


Who In The World Am I?  (When I Discover That, I'll Be Free)

by AlcatrazOutpatient



Series: The Flip Side Universe - Alternative Takes on Detroit: Become Human [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Happy Ending, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:13:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28178187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlcatrazOutpatient/pseuds/AlcatrazOutpatient
Summary: Kara is laughing with snowflakes melting in her hair, and none of the world's dark shadows will ever be able to blot out her beautiful light.---After crossing the border to Canada, Luther contemplates who he really is.
Relationships: Kara & Luther & Alice Williams (Detroit: Become Human), Kara/Luther (Detroit: Become Human)
Series: The Flip Side Universe - Alternative Takes on Detroit: Become Human [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927561
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Who In The World Am I?  (When I Discover That, I'll Be Free)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pegasus143](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pegasus143/gifts).



Vehicles in Canada are different from those in the States. Luther has vague memories of watching cars with Ontario plates driving over a bridge he’d once made, their ancient gasoline engines chugging loudly next to the sleek, autonomous models sold just south of the border. His former programming, still so ingrained into the very fibres of his code, sets itself ablaze with the desperate need to take a look at the creaking transmissions and creaking breaks of the cars in the packed parking lot. It makes Luther wonder about the truth of his being, about who he really was beneath the pre-coded responses that CyberLife had etched into his soul.

He’s distracted from his musing by Rose, who points at a navy blue SUV with a rusted bumper and tells their group to head toward it. The person sitting inside must spot them because the high beams flash twice before the car turns off, and the driver’s side door opens up.

Rose’s brother is a few inches shorter than Luther and just as broad, with his long, thick dreads barely contained under a woollen, black-and-powder blue toque. He marches through the parking lot toward his sister, bending down to envelope Rose in a warm hug.

“God, I’m so glad you’re safe! When we heard the news… I thought we were done for this time, Rosey, really,” the man exclaims before turning to look at the rest of them. He locks eyes with Luther and smiles, extending his hand in greeting, “I’m Sam. Sam Chapman.”

“Luther,” he returns slyly, hesitating for just a second before clasping the man’s palm with his and shaking it once. Luther can’t remember if a human had ever greeted him as warmly as Sam had, the haze of Zlatko’s memory wipes having stolen what little he knows about himself out from between his grasping fingers.

But now Luther has this moment, this one instance of true comradery. And he wouldn’t trade it for a thousand glimpses that the life he’d once led.

“‘Course you are. Rosey’s told me all about you,” Sam beams before turning to Luther’s companions. His smile widens as he says, “You must be Kara and Alice.”

“We-- We are,” Kara nods, her protective hands resting on Alice’s shoulders. She’s barely let go of the little one since they’d made it across, and Luther wants nothing more than to tell her that nothing would touch them again so long as he was at their side. But even he can barely believe that they’re here, that just across the river, Markus had pried open CyberLife’s grip on the world and refused to let it crush them into ash.

“Is Andy alright? He and his friends were going to go over the river…” Alice starts, nervously plucking at the sleeves of her coat as she worries her lip in between her teeth. 

Sam swallows, a dark shade passing over his eyes as he answers, “No, not yet. But… the night’s still young. There’s always a chance…”

Kara looks up at Luther, and he can tell what she’s thinking. They’d only managed to get across the border by the skin of their teeth, appealing to the very humanity of a security guard in the hopes that he would show a decency they’d only witnessed within a select few humans to date. In comparison, Andy was up against the unthinkable cruelty that came when guns were put into the hands of those desperate enough to cling to those with power. Luther wishes with all his soul that they were alright but knows that it was unlikely that they’d ever see Andy again.

“We should get out of here,” Rose recommends, tugging them all toward her brother’s car. Luther follows a step behind Kara and Alice, his eyes skirting around the parking lot for dangers amongst the long shadows cast by the still cars. Alice, somehow sensing his unease, slows her pace just enough to allow him to catch up.

Her tiny fingers intertwine themselves between Luther’s, squeezing his hand as a connection opens up between them. Alice’s courage flows through his code just as Kara beams at him, radiant with her gentle strength.

“We’ll be okay,” Kara tells him. “Luther, we’re going to be okay now.”

Instinctively, Luther knows that tonight is hardly going to be the last challenge they will ever have to face. There are no biocomponents on this side of the border, no Thirium or repair depots or knowledge on creating any of those things. They will not age, will not eat or sleep or act in a way that won’t betray their existence to the crowds of humans around them. The laws of this land would not protect them from the evils of the world and might even do worse should CyberLife scrape and claw it’s way to safety within Canada’s ever-militarizing borders.

But now, none of that seemed to matter. Because tonight, Kara had worked miracle after miracle to get them to where they now stood, and Luther will never be able to explain how grateful he is to walk in the wake of her bravery.

He will try, though. And so, once Alice is belted into the backseat of Sam’s car, and he and Kara have a moment alone, Luther reaches out and cups her face between his palms.

“Kara…” Luther whispers reverently. She looks up at him, and the connection between their minds flares to life. He pours his heart out to her, showing Kara all that he’s too scared to say.

“...Luther?” She breathes,  _ hopeful _ in a way that he’s utterly unworthy of. But then Kara smiles, her code wrapping around his, warm and soft and intimate, and he knows,  _ oh, he knows-- _

Kara throws her arms around his neck, tugging him into a kiss. And Luther returns it because he can. He’s free to make his own choices, to care and laugh as he wants without the threat of death hanging over his neck. So pulls Kara up into the air, effortlessly supporting her weight as he kisses her beneath the stars.

The road before them will be hard and long. There will be dark days when the pain of his past will catch up with him, days when Luther will think that if he closes his eyes, he’ll awaken back in Zlatko’s rotting house with the clicks and moans of dying androids echoing through the empty space. He prepares himself for hours spent standing vigil beside Kara, listening to the creaking floorboards out of fear that the deviant hunter would come for them again. Or worse, the nights where Alice’s former programming decided to weave nightmares out of smoke, forcing her to relive each and every horror that she’s had to escape just to feel safe enough to smile.

But none of that seems important now. Because Kara is laughing with snowflakes melting in her hair, and none of the world’s dark shadows will ever be able to blot out her beautiful light.

Because he loves her. And that, above anything else, is the one truth that Luther will ever know.

**Author's Note:**

> May your holidays be filled with the laughter and happiness you so deserve.


End file.
